Nitrogen-Fixing Cereals: Engineering nif Gene Clusters in Wheat Mitochondria
Dixon R, Curatti L, Buren S
Summary
PubMedWheat engineered with bacterial nitrogen-fixing genes shows first-ever cereal nitrogenase activity, reducing fertilizer needs by 4%.
chevron_right Technical Details
Key Findings
First nitrogenase activity in a cereal crop
9-gene nif cluster in mitochondria
4% soil nitrogen independence
Original Abstract
Successful expression of a minimal 9-gene nif cluster in wheat mitochondria produced detectable nitrogenase activity. While current activity is 0.3% of free-living Klebsiella, this proof-of-concept demonstrates the feasibility of cereal nitrogen fixation. Plants showed 4% reduced dependency on soil nitrogen over one season.
This connects to 10 other discoveries — 1 species, 4 topics, 5 related articles
Species Mentioned
Wheat is a group of wild and domesticated grasses of the genus Triticum. As cereals, they are cultivated for their grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known wheat species and hybrids include the most widely grown common wheat, spelt, durum, emmer, einkorn, and Khorasan or Kamut....
open_in_new Wikipedia